NFL talking to networks about full Thursday night schedule

According to a report in Monday’s Sports Business Journal, the NFL is talking to networks about putting together a package of games that would make Thursday night football a reality every week of the season.

NFL Network already carries one game every Thursday night the final eight weeks of the season. The package being pitched presumably would be for Weeks 2 through 9, since NBC has exclusive rights to the Thursday night season opener through its Sunday Night Football package.

The deal would be expected to bring the league another $700 million, which would soften the hit players would have to take as a result of being forced to accept a smaller percentage of revenues in the new labor deal both sides continue to negotiate.

According to the report, prime bidders for the package include Comcast, which would put the games on its fledgling Versus network, and Turner, which was an NFL partner from 1990-97 and would like to get back in. Turner would presumably put the games on either TBS, TNT or truTV. Fox, ESPN and SpikeTV are other possible bidders. ESPN already has a strong tradition of college football on Thursday nights.

The report states the deal could result in a full schedule of Thursday games this year, though with the schedules already set that could be difficult.

The Dolphins and their fans might not be the biggest proponents of the change. It was only last season that Miami lost quarterbacks Chad Henne and Chad Pennington in a 29-17 victory over Tennessee on Nov. 14, leaving Tony Sparano and his coaching staff only three days to get Tyler Thigpen ready for the vaunted defense of the Chicago Bears. Thigpen was overmatched and sacked six times as Chicago rolled to a 16-0 shutout win.

This year the Dolphins face another daunting Thursday task, facing Dallas at Cowboys Stadium on Thanksgiving Day.